Noah of the Wild
by wolfpup026
Summary: In the midst of the battle between good and evil, a new Noah is born. What will become of her? TykiXOC
1. Lost Child

**A/N: To anyone who's waiting for an update on my other 2 fics, I'm really sorry! I've had the idea for this story for a long time, and I finally thought of a good beginning so I really had to write it. I hope you guys aren't too mad at me. Oh, and the OC in this fic is the same as the one in my other 2 fics, because I like my OC and didn't want to make up a new one. Also, I'm crap at thinking up names for my characters. So it's the same person (sort of), just in a completely different story.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned D. Gray-man, Allen wouldn't have beaten Tyki in the fight on the ark. (No offense, Allen fans.) But it was highly improbable…I mean, he was inside that vacuum Tyki created for like 5 minutes, with no oxygen whatsoever. He should've passed out, at the very least.**

***

_The young child was working in the kitchen of the small, dingy apartment. She was so small, she could barely see over the stove top. Smoke was starting to rise up from the pan on the stove._

_Smelling the smoke, a man came running into the room._

_"How could you burn my food _again_!?" the man roared. She could smell alcohol on his breath, and there was an empty beer bottle in his hand. He slapped her across the face savagely, and the girl went sprawling on the floor. _

_"I'm sorry, daddy!" the girl cried, a large red welt forming across her cheek. "I promise it won't ever happen again!"_

_"You pathetic, useless daughter! Get out of my sight!" the man yelled. He raised his arm, the one holding the empty glass bottle, and swung at her. The bottle shattered against his daughter's shoulder, large shards of glass burying themselves in her flesh. The girl cried out in pain._

_"Daddy, please don't-"_

_But the man picked her up by her shirt and threw her out the door, where she landed with a thump in the dark alleyway._

_"You can stay out there and think about what you've done!" the man roared, slamming the door shut._

_"I'm sorry, daddy! Please let me in!" she cried, pounding against the door. There was no reply._

_The wounds on her shoulder were bleeding a lot. Too much. The girl felt her legs collapse under her, and she sprawled facedown on the ground._

***

The handsome young gentleman was walking through town, on his way home. He was in quite a good mood.

_Two more Exorcists killed today; two more pieces of Innocence destroyed, _he though to himself._ The Millenium Earl will be quite pleased with me. Maybe he'll even allow me to visit Eaze and the others before my next job…_

Walking past a dark alleyway, Tyki noticed something strange, and doubled back to see what it was.

_Is that…a human body, lying on the ground? It's so small, it must be a child's._

Even though he dealt with dead or dying humans almost every day (in fact, he was usually the one who had killed them), Tyki couldn't help feeling a sense of remorse upon seeing the child lying there.

_Maybe he or she is still alive…_

Tyki leaned down over the body and, hearing a shallow breathing, turned the child over. His eyes widened in shock.

It was a young girl, no more than 5 or 6 years of age. She had long, black hair. But there was a red welt over her right cheek, as if she had been hit there, and her face and clothes were covered in blood. Most of the blood seemed to be coming from her left shoulder, where several large shards of glass had pierced her skin.

_Poor girl…who would do this to such an innocent child? I wonder if I can help her somehow…_

Tyki almost laughed at his own naivety.

_You? Help _her_? _he asked himself. _Why would a little girl want help from a monster like yourself? Why, if you had come across her in Noah form, you would have killed her without hesitation._

But he couldn't simply walk away, could he?

Against his better judgement, Tyki carefully pulled out several of the largest pieces of glass out of the girl's shoulder, setting the on the ground. Taking out his handkerchief, he gently wiped the blood off her face. Suddenly, the girl's eyelids fluttered open, revealing vivid green eyes. She stared at him in shock.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

"…I'm fine…" The whispered answere was so quiet, he couldn't even be sure If he had heard it or not.

Tyki stood up. There was no more he could do for this girl. What was he going to do, bring her back home with him? Maybe Sherril wanted to adopt another daughter…yeah right. _That would go over really well, if I brought a human, and a young girl at that, home with me._

"I'm sorry I can't help you any more," he told her, forcing himself to walk away. He couldn't look back. He knew that if he did, he wouldn't be able to leave. He'd want to stay just a while longer,to care for the girl until he could be sure she was okay.

_Humans…they're so weak, so vulnerable. She could still die from blood loss, or she could be kidnapped, murdered, or starve to death if no one finds her._

But he forced himself to keep walking, away from the girl. From behind him, he heard the softest of whispers.

"_Thank you…sir."_

Tyki continued walking towards home. But his previous cheerful mood had evaporated, replaced with one of guilt and sorrow. And he know that he would never forget those bright green eyes.

***

Many years passed. The girl did survive, as her father kicked her back inside the house the next morning so she could cook him breakfast. Her life continued in the same pattern as usual. The beatings from her father came again and again, every single day. And she soon started school, where she was shunned by her fellow classmates due to the vivid bruises on her face every day. But as the girl grew up, no matter how many years went by, she never forgot the man she met that night, the first person in her life who had ever shown any kindness towards her.

***

**A/N: So, how'd you like it? This story probably won't be updated in a while, because I really need to get back to my other fics. But if you want to read more, please review and I'll try to update sooner!**


	2. Awakening

**A/N: Two words: school sucks. XD But I guess I can't really complain, because I know there are children out there who want to go to school but can't. As my History teacher says, Americans take way too much for granted. XD**

**Thanks to all my reviewers: ****MeKillAllenAndLavi****, ****LunasDarkSpirit****, ****.Sonata****, ****Kaytlyn Hue****, and ****xXDeath-N'-HellXx****!**

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own D. Gray-man ******

***

_Eleven years later_

"Tyki-pon, Road, please come with me. There are important matters I need to discuss with you two," the Earl said during breakfast.

"Please don't call me that, Earl," Tyki sighed. As usual, the Earl ignored this.

"Hey, what about us?" Debitto called. He and Jasdero were also at the breakfast table. "What is there that you need to discuss with them, but not us?" he said indignantly.

"I'm not sure you two are mature enough to handle this, the Earl said.

Tyki chuckled. That was probably true. The twins could hardly sit through a meal without starting a food fight.

So, he and Road followed the Earl out of the dining room.

"What is it you need to tell us, Earl?" Tyki asked interestedly.

"Don't worry, Tyki-pon. You'll see soon enough."

Now Tyki was curious. What was going on that the Earl needed to tell him and Road, but not the twins, or Sweet Tooth, for that matter, who was also currently home?

The Earl instructed Road to create a door, which they passed through to find themselves in a small human town, probably somewhere in Austria or Germany, from the look of it.

Looking around, Tyki noticed that the place seemed oddly familiar, as if from an old dream that he couldn't quite recall…

"Ah, here we are," the Earl said, spotting a nondescript, brown building. Walking in, Tyki realized he was in a hospital of some sort.

The Earl walked up to the receptionist at the front desk and said, "We're here to see a certain person in Room 256."

The woman looked surprised. "Oh, really? Are you friends of hers or something?"

"No, we're her family," the Earl replied.

_Funny…I thought that girl said she had no family apart from her father when she came in the other day…she said she had no money and her father refused to pay, but we couldn't throw her out, forehead bleeding like it was…_the receptionist thought to herself. _Oh well…it wouldn't hurt her to have some visitors, regardless of who they are…_

"Take these people to Room 256," she called to a passing nurse.

"Yes, ma'am. Right this way."

"Family?" Tyki whispered to the Earl as they followed the nurse. "What's going on?"

"Oh, you'll find out very soon, Tyki-pon," the Earl replied with a grin.

Road was skipping along with a wide smile on her face, like she knew something Tyki didn't.

When they finally reached Room 256, the nurse left them.

"After you, Tyki," Road said with a grin, gesturing for him to go in first. So, Tyki opened the door and stepped into the room.

The room itself was ordinary enough, with white walls, a window overlooking the street outside, and a small bed in the center. But what was shocking was the person lying on the bed.

She looked to be about seventeen years old, with long black hair and startlingly green eyes. Her skin was an ashen grey color, and on her forehead was a row of crosses that were bleeding heavily. She tossed and turned on the bed, writing in pain, as her eyes stared uncomprehendingly at the ceiling above her. She was hallucinating, too-begging and pleading with someone who was not there:

"I'm sorry, father! I promise it won't happen again! Please don't kill me, I'll be good, I swear!" she cried.

Tyki stared at the girl in shock, unable to speak. _It's her…the little girI I met in the alley, so long ago. She was dying, and I stopped to care for her._

_But was is really the same girl? _he wondered. She was so much older now. But there was no mistaking those green eyes, the same ones that had stared at him so long ago. She had turned from a little girl to a young woman.

_Do humans really grow that fast? How long has it been? Ten, maybe eleven years?_

"Tyki, are you okay?" Road asked. He finally snapped out of his trance.

"Yeah…I'm fine…" he mumbled.

Then he realized what this meant.

"Another Noah?" he exclaimed, socked. _I never in a million years would have imagined this…_

"But I thought there were only supposed to be thirteen children of Noah?" he said to the Earl. "Well, not including the Fourteenth."

"Yes, so did I. Clearly, we were mistaken," the Earl replied.

"Aren't you excited, Tyki?" Road asked, jumping up and down. "I'm gonna have a big sister! We can play dress up, and I'll do her hair, and…"

Tyki couldn't help grinning. Road's excitement was contagious. And, he realized that he was rather eager for this girl to join their family, too. Since that night he met the girl, he had often wondered about her, what her name was, whether or not she had survived and what had happened to her since.

_This is going to be interesting_, he thought.

***

**A/N: Just to clear things up, the Earl and Road didn't know that Tyki had met the girl before, as he never told anyone about it. They just wanted to surprise him. And, the Earl didn't bring Jasdevi or Skin with them because he didn't feel quite safe in bringing them to a human hospital…they'd probably end up destroying the whole town. XD**

**As always, reviews would be lovely. ^_^**


	3. The Fifteenth Child of Noah

**A/N: So…another chapter! Yay! OMG the creepiest thing happened to me today…I was home by myself, and the doorbell rings so I look out the window and there's these two scary looking men standing outside my door with suits and briefcases. They stood out there for like ten minutes, and it scared the crap out of me. Anyways…on with the chapter.**

**Thanks to ****Midnight. Light. Sonata****, ****Kaytlyn Hue****, ****xXDeath-N'-HellXx****, and ****LunasDarkSpirit**** for reviewing the last chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own D. Gray-man. =P**

***

_First-person POV_

The first thing that I realized was that the pain was gone. My immediate reaction was relief, followed by apprehension. _Does that mean I'm dead?_

Slowly, cautiously, I opened my eyes.

_Where the hell am I?_

The room was completely unfamiliar, and very expensive looking. I was on a large, comfortable, canopy bed, with pink sheets and pink lace pillows. The walls were painted a pale lavender, and the room was decorated with lavish furnishings. To my left, a pair of French doors opened to a balcony overlooking a beautiful garden outside.

_This is definitely not my father's house_, I thought dryly. _How did I get here? That is, if I'm not dead and this isn't heaven or something. I can't remember what happened…all I remember is the pain. Father had been beating me…or had he? No, it wasn't that. My forehead had been bleeding. I remember that much._

Automatically, my hands flew to my forehead. There was no blood, but I felt a line of odd-shaped scars across it. That was when I first noticed the ashen color of my hands.

_Holy crap, what happened to me?_

My breathing sped up, and I could feel myself starting to hyperventilate. That was when the little girl came skipping into the room.

She was wearing a ruffled while blouse, black skirt, and pink and purple striped knee-high socks. She looked to be around 9 or 10 years old, with spiky, blue-ish hair framing her face. Her eyes were a soft golden color, and there was a line of crosses running across her forehead. Her skin was an ashen gray color…exactly the same color I had just seen on my own skin.

"You're finally awake!" she squealed, throwing her arms around me and hugging me. I froze, rather taken aback. I had never been quite comfortable with physical contact from other humans, not even from my two close friends at school, after being raised by a man who touched me only to hit me. Unlike the other children at school, I had not been raised with hugs and kisses from my parents, but instead with the slap of a hand against my face.

But the little girl seemed not to notice my discomfort.

"Come on, everyone is dying to meet you!" she said, grabbing my hand and pulling me off the bed and out of the room before I could protest.

***

_Normal POV_

Meanwhile, the Earl, Tyki, Jasdevi, Skin, and Lulubell were eating breakfast when Road came skipping in, a distressed looking teenage girl in tow.

"She's awake!" she squealed happily. Everyone turned to stare at the new girl, their expressions ranging from amusement (Jasdevi) to boredom (Skin). Tyki couldn't help but chuckle. Leave it to Road to drag the poor girl out of bed the moment she woke up. She was clearly uncomfortable, standing awkwardly in the doorway while everyone stared at her.

_Where the hell am I? Who are these people?_ She thought. Looking around the room at the six people staring at her (not including the little girl who had dragged her here against her will), she noticed that they all had the same gray colored skin as she now seemed to have, golden eyes, and a line of crosses across their foreheads. Then her gaze landed on one person.

He was a young man in his mid-twenties, with a handsome face and curly black hair. Her eyes widened as she stared at him in shock.

_Flashback (first-person POV)_

_My shoulder hurt so much…the pain was almost unbearable. I remember passing out…how much time had passed? I had to get up, or I would bleed to death…_

_Footsteps sounded in the dark alleyway, coming closer and closer. A few seconds later, a gentle hand was wiping my face with a handkerchief. Sharp pains in my shoulder were the shards of glass being carefully pulled out. I opened my eyes slowly. A young man was standing above me…his eyes were a chocolate brown color, and his curly hair was black as midnight. I stared at him in shock, wondering why he was here._

"_Are you okay?" he asked softly._

"_I…I'm fine…" I struggled to say. And, for the first time in my life, I felt a sense of safety and trust, in the strange man who had stopped to care for me._

_Abruptly, he stood up._

"_I'm sorry I can't help you more," he said, and turned to leave._

"_No, don't leave me!" I wanted to cry. But I couldn't. What right did I have to ask a stranger to stay for me? So instead I whispered, "Thank you…sir…" My eyes slowly closed as I fell unconscious once more. _

_End flashback_

I was sure that this man was the same one as in my memory. Although his eye and skin color were different, I could tell it was the same person. _Although…shouldn't he be older now? But he still looks the same as before._

_Normal POV_

Tyki noticed the girl staring at him. _Ah, so she does remember me_, he thought, pleased. _She looks so nervous…you'd think we were all monsters or something. How ironic._ He smiled at her, trying to make her feel more comfortable.

The girl blushed. _Wow…he's really cute…_she thought to herself. She had never had much interaction with members of the opposite sex before, as the boys at her school had always avoided her. It wasn't that she was ugly or unattractive or anything, it was just that almost everyone in the school avoided her. The only males she ever talked to were her father and the male teachers at school. And certainly, none of them had ever smiled at her before. At least, not the way this man was smiling at her how. Embarrassed, she looked away. Then, the Millennium Earl finally spoke.

"Welcome to our family, Diane Elkridge," he said smiling at her.

_So that's her name. Diane._ Tyki thought to himself. He knew her name at last, after nearly twelve years of wondering. _Hmm…that's a pretty name. It suits her._

Diane blinked. "H-how do you know my name?" she stuttered. (**A/N: Has anyone ever wondered before how the Earl seems to know everyone's name? It's kinda creepy, if you ask me.)**

The Earl chuckled. "I know many things, my dear. But you must be very confused. Take a seat, and I'll explain everything to you. Oh, and please help yourself to some breakfast."

Tyki pulled out the chair next to him, and Diane sat down nervously.

"First, we should start by introducing ourselves." The Earl said after Diane was seated. "I, my dear, am the Millennium Earl."

"Road Camelot," the little girl who had brought Diane here said from her seat next to the Earl.

"Lulubell." This came from the elegant woman in her twenties, with long black hair pulled back in a low ponytail.

"Skin Bolic," said a rather scary looking, muscular man.

"Debitto." A teenage boy with shoulder length, spiky black hair.

"Jasdero." The blond-haired boy next to him, with the odd stitched mouth.

"Together we're Jasdevi!" they said in perfect unison.

"Tyki Mikk," said the gentleman sitting next to Diane, while giving her another small smile. Diane felt her face going red again.

"We are the clan of Noah, a race of superhumans that are descended from Noah himself, and have inherited his DNA. The world has become overrun with corrupt, weak humans, and our job is to eliminate them," the Earl said. "Each of us holds one of Noah's memories. Road is the Noah of Dreams, Tyki is the Noah of Pleasure, Lulubell is the Noah of Lust, Skin is the Noah of Anger, and Jasdevi is the Noah of Bonds. And you, my dear, are the Noah of the Wild. The fifteenth child of Noah." Then, he went on to explain everything about Exorcists, how they were the apostles of the false god and must be destroyed at all costs, and about the akuma.

Diane sat through the Earl's speech in silence, her face unreadable. As soon as the Earl was done speaking, Road ran over to Diane and grabbed her arm.

"Come play dress up with me now!" she exclaimed.

"Now, Road, I'm sure Diane is still very tired from her transformation. Leave her alone for now," the Earl chided her. "And absolutely _no_ pranks," he said, turning to give Jasdevi a stern look.

"What, us?" Debitto asked, trying and failing to look innocent.

"I mean it. Don't bother her," the Earl ordered.

With a polite nod to the Earl, Diane got up and walked out of the room, looking rather overwhelmed.

"Aww, she's no fun," Road pouted.

Ignoring the Earl's order not to bother Diane, Tyki got up and went after her.

Diane had found her way into one of the mansion's several living rooms, and was sitting on the sofa, head in her hands.

"Hello," he said pleasantly.

Her head flew up, and she stared at him like a startled animal. (**A/N: OMG, foreshadowing!**)

There was a moment's silence, as she stared at him wordlessly.

"You _can_ speak, can't you?" Tyki asked teasingly.

She blushed. "Yes," she murmured quietly, not looking at him. She paused, then whispered, "I remember you. You saved my life, a long time ago."

Tyki blinked. "Well, that's a bit of an overstatement, isn't it? I think you would've been fine even if I hadn't been there."

Still staring at the ground, Diane replied, "I would've bled to death if the glass had been lodged in my shoulder any longer."

Tyki wasn't sure what to say to this rather morbid statement.

After a rather awkward silence, Diane muttered, seemingly to herself, "I'm not dead, am I?"

"Dead? Why would you think you're dead?" Tyki asked, surprised.

"Well, that would make a lot more sense than all of this. Either that, or I could be dreaming," she said.

"My dear girl, you're not dreaming, and you are definitely _not_ dead. You're one of the children of Noah. You_ belong_ here," Tyki said exasperatedly. Of course, he still remembered how it felt when _he_ had first awakened as a Noah. He hadn't believed it any more than she did right now.

_You belong here._ The words echoed through Diane's head. _Impossible._ She had never belonged anywhere before. At school, she had always been the outcast, and home was no better, where she was constantly abused by her father. _You belong here._ But the strange thing was, it _did_ feel like she belonged. Sitting at that table surrounded by strangers, apart from the awkwardness of everyone staring at her, she had felt more at home than she ever had anywhere else. But she dared not let herself hope that this might all be real. Several times before in her life, she had foolishly let herself hope that things might change for the better, only to have her hopes crushed soon after. And now, she wouldn't let herself believe that she might really have a new family, and that all those years of misery might finally be at an end.

"This can't be real…none of this is even _possible_!" she exclaimed.

"Hmm?" Tyki raised an eyebrow.

"Exorcists? Demons? None of this makes any sense!"

"Oh, so you don't believe in the supernatural, huh?" he said with a grin. "Well, you'd better start believing soon. Starting today, you _are_ one of the supernatural."

_He's out of his mind…_she thought.

Seeing the disbelieving expression on her face, Tyki grinned. "Watch this." He stood up and strode over to the wall behind the couch. And then- _he walked straight through the wall._

Diane jumped up with a yelp.

As Tyki passed through the wall beck into the room, he found Diane staring at him with a wide-eyed, almost frightened expression.

"H-how did you do that?" she stuttered.

He shrugged. "It's just part of what I can do, as the Noah of Pleasure."

"Okay, now I'm 100 percent sure I'm dreaming."

Tyki sighed in exasperation. "Is there anything I can do to convince you that this is all real?"

"Nope."

"Fine, then. Why don't you go to bed and get some rest? When you wake up tomorrow, you'll still be here and then you'll finally realize you're not dreaming."

"Good idea." Turning to walk out of the room, Diane paused and said, "Thank you, sir."

"Call me Tyki."

"Okay. Thanks, Tyki."

***

**A/N: I don't really like how the last bit of this chapter turned out, the part with the conversation between Tyki and Diane. I couldn't get the words to flow right. Tyki's kinda OOC, and Diane seems too…I dunno…open and talkative and stuff for a girl who was abused by her father all her life. But she was really freaking out, so I guess she would talk more than usual. And there'll be more character development of Diane next chapter. **

**As always, please review! ^_^**


	4. From Pauper to Princess

**A/N: Sorry it's been quite a while since I updated this story…but I'm leaving on vacation soon, so I thought I'd update before I left. :)**

**Thanks to ****xXDeath-N'-HellXx****, ****Kaytlyn Hue****, ****Uraharas Hat****, ****Maharet11****, and ****88celine**** for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned D. Gray-man, the Noahs would appear in the plot a LOT more. **

*******

Diane knew she was awake, but didn't open her eyes. She didn't want the dream to end. _That was definitely the most realistic dream I have ever had_, she sighed. _I almost believed it, too. I actually thought that I might really be free of my father forever…and there was that man, the one I met so long ago. _Sigh. _He was so incredibly handsome…_

The dream had certainly been a strange one, though. _This fat guy told me I was descended from Noah…like I was special or something. Yeah, right. I was never important or special, and never will be. And there was this bunch or stuff he told me about Exorcists and akumas…neither of which could possibly exist._

Diane was staring to feel depressed again when she heard the strange voices around her.

"This is boring…"

"Why is she still asleep? She's been sleeping for 24 hours straight!"

"Can I poke her?"

"Don't you three know it's extremely rude to enter a woman's room without her permission? Especially If she's sleeping."

"Then why are you here, Tyki?"

"Well, someone has to make sure those two don't do anything to her."

"Shut up!"

"Aw, don't lie, Tyki. You know you're just as interested in her as we are. Besides, you talked to her yesterday, didn't you? What were you two talking about, anyway?"

"Nothing."  
Diane opened her eyes slowly. There were 3 people gathered around her bed, staring at her- a young girl and two teenage boys. Further way, a man was sitting in an armchair, also watching her.

Her eyes widened. "W-what-"

"Diane!" Road leaped at Diane and threw her arms around her. "You've been sleeping for so long! Come play with me now!"

"No way!" Debitto shouted. "You'll only bore her to death playing dress up. We want to talk to her!"

"Yeah, it's our turn, hee!"

"It's only her second day as a Noah, I'm sure she doesn't need to be traumatized with you three fighting over her-"

That was when realization hit Diane with all the force of a freight train going 80 miles per hour.

It wasn't possible to wake up from a dream and still be in a dream, was it? So that must mean-

"This is real! I'm not dreaming, and I'm not crazy! I'm really free!" To everyone's surprise, she leaped out of bed and hugged Road, spinning her around in a circle and laughing in delight.

Road laughed along with her, glad that her new sister was finally awake and happy. Exactly why she was so happy all of a sudden, Road wasn't too sure. She made a mental note to find out exactly what her new sister meant by being 'free' later. Because now, it was time to play dress up.

"Come play with me now!" Road grabbed Diane's hand and started pulling her towards the door.

"Um, sure, what do you want to play?"

Diane felt slightly apprehensive, as the twins were making emphatic 'don't do it' gestures behind Road's back.

Road, however, looked delighted at her victim's cooperativeness.

"Let's go play dress up!"

For the next few hours, Diane found herself trapped in Road's room, forced to try on one dress after another. She had never liked dresses much, probably due to the fact that she had never actually worn a dress before. Her father had never had money to buy costly dresses for his only daughter, as he usually spent most of the little money that he made on alcohol. The other girls she had known always made fun of her for it, and she had grown to hate them and the expensive dresses they always wore.

So, basically, this whole 'dress up' thing was a nightmare for Diane.

"Road, I look ridiculous," she complained.

"I'll bet you look great! Come on, let's see it!"

With a sight, Diane stepped out from behind the curtain of the makeshift dressing-room that Road had set up. The dress she had on was light blue and sleeveless, with a white sash across the waist that tied in the back.

Road and the twins, who had followed them and were now sitting on Road's bed, all stared at her like she was a mannequin on display at a store.

"What?" Diane hated being stared at, thought unfortunately it seemed to be happening quite a lot lately.

"Aww, Diane, you look so pretty!" Road squealed.

"Nah, too girly," Debitto commented.

Road glared at him. "What do you know? You're a boy, after all."

"Yeah, which means I know what guys think looks good on girls-"

"I think she looks nice." Tyki was standing in the doorway, staring at Diane.

Diane felt her face turn red.

"Thanks," she muttered, looking at the floor. _Dammit, what is wrong with me?_ she thought. _I hardly ever used to blush before I got here…I hope that Noah transformation didn't mess up my brain or something._

Road turned to face Tyki with her hands on her hips. "Tyki, what are you doing here? Go away, you're making her embarrassed."

Tyki chuckled. "Fine, I'm leaving."

"Now," Road said, turning back to Diane with a bright smile on her face, "time to try on the next dress!"

Diane groaned.

***

Over the next few days, Diane became accustomed to life with the Noahs. Her new life was quite different from her old one. But what she found strangest about it wasn't the fact that she now had maids who waited on her instead of being treated as a slave, or that she now lived in a mansion and could have just about anything that she wanted. It wasn't her new, almost frightening appearance, or even the realization that she wasn't fully human anymore. In truth, what she found most different about her new life was that everyone here seemed to like her. For the first few days, Road and Jasdevi were constantly fighting over her. And when their excitement over their new toy died down a bit, Diane had the chance to spend some time with Tyki. Even Lulubell and Skin, who never talked to her much, didn't seem to mind her. And of course, the Earl absolutely doted on the newest addition to his family.

Diane smiled to herself as she lay in bed. _It's like that fairy tale, 'The Prince and the Pauper.' I went to bed as a pauper, and woke up a princess…_

***

**A/N: Kinda too short for my liking. Nothing interesting really happened in this chapter…hopefully things'll pick up next chapter. Unfortunately, that won't be for a long time because I'm going to sleep-away camp next week, then leaving for vacation for four weeks.**

**Does Diane seem kind Mary-Sue-ish? I think I'm overpaying the whole 'poor abused child' bit, but I can't just forget all about her past, you know? Ah well… And, although she though of herself as a princess because she's now rich and stuff, Diane is definitely NOT princessy. Just wanted to clear that up.**

**Please review, and maybe I'll come back from vacation early to update! (Well, probably not, but review anyway! ^_^)**


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